Is anyone a nurse and hates it?

i was just wondering if anyone here is a nurse and hates it and if you could go back and change careers what would you do?

I speak for my wife...an RN Home health nurse for new Moms and babies...
She worked harder and more hours than anyone I know. She travelled all day in her car, visiting patients -- sometimes in places that required an armed plain-clothed policeman, and constantly on the phone coordinating home health equipment. Often, when she had questions in the field, she had little to no resources to help her...meanwhile the parents, grandparents, and local neighbors are clamoring and crying as she cleaned a burn wound on their child or drew blood. In the evenings after 10 long hours, she had about 3 hours of paperwork to complete, followed by - again - coordinating the medical equipment for the next day. Then the cycle started again.

When could she give her young child the time she needs? When could she be a mom? When could the family see her? When could she rest?

She quite her job, and stayed home to raise our child. That was the best decision ever, and made a huge difference in my child. The money was good in nursing, but not that good. No amount of money could ever buy back the time with our daughter that she would have otherwise missed. The financial adjustment was difficult at first, but adjustment comes. For me, I never paid any day care to love my daughter in my absence -- something they can never do anyway. I go to work, and never have a worry about my family. That peace is worth more than money, a new car, or a huge house.

Today my child is older, and my wife now teaches 1st grade. The stress is nonexistent, unlike nursing. The pay is much less...but she feels called into teaching, does a great job, and truly enjoys her job. Again, the pay is tiny compared nursing, but we make it, and the happiness and peace cannot be bought.

Hope this helps.

Ive been a nurse for 20 years,I'm getting burned out.
Sometimes I wish Id chosen a career that involved animals.

I'm not a nurse, but I went to nursing school (dropped out - hated it), my ex-wife is a nurse, and my fiancee is a nursing student.

But, if you're looking to make a move, you might want to consider working for a healthcare software company. They have projects like nursing documentation systems, electronic medical records, and bedside barcode scanning systems that they need clinical experts for. You don't need any prior IT experience - your main role is to train the hospitals on how to use the system, and you have technical people to handle the rest. Usually involves quite a bit of travel.

If you're interested, try GE Healthcare, Eclipsys, Cerner, or Epic. There are others, but these are the Big 4.

Yikes! I'm totally freaked out. I just started college for nursing. It wasn't my first choice but was a practical one. Now I'm worried.